14 GARDEN AND AVIARY BIRDS. 



only Tit I have seen in confinement here, several having 

 been brought down to Calcutta of late years. It does 

 well as a captive, and from its beauty and active move- 

 ments is a nice pet. But it should not be trusted with 

 birds no larger than itself, as it has murderous procli- 

 vities, like Tits in general another proof of their 

 relationship to the blackguard Crow. Tits in confine- 

 ment should have hemp-seed and cracked nuts in addition 

 to the usual food of small insectivorous birds. Co'coanut 

 shells should be provided for them to sleep in, and two, 

 even of the same species, should not be put together 

 without great caution. 



THE INDIAN GREY TIT (Parus atriceps), called in Ben- 

 gali Ram-gangra, is grey above and dirty white below, 

 the head and breast, with a streak running down from 

 the latter, are black except for the pure white cheeks. 

 Young birds have a strong yellow tinge throughout the 

 plumage. This bird is a little smaller than a sparrow ; 

 it is the most widely-spread of Indian Tits, being found 

 nearly all over India and Burmah, and frequenting both 

 hills and plains. It breeds from March to June, laying 

 about half-a-dozen eggs, pinky-white with red spots, in 

 any convenient hole in a tree, wall, or even bank. It 

 has a very wide range outside our Empire, being found 

 north to Turkestan and south to the Malay Islands. 



THE BABELERS. 



These form the most numerous group of Indian birds 

 and are, of all the smaller fry, the most interesting in my 

 opinion, whether at large or in the aviary. 



